About 34 percent of New Mexico teachers get highest ratings

By RUSSELL CONTRERAS, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State officials say the number of public school teachers in New Mexico rating highly effective or better has increased.
The New Mexico Public Education Department on Monday released the latest results under the much-debated teacher evaluation system that showed 34.2 percent of teachers last year earned "highly effective" or "exemplary" ratings.
That's a 2 percentage point from the previous year.
Overall, around 75 percent of New Mexico teachers were graded as effective or better when it comes to their success in the classroom.
New Mexico Public Education Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski says the number of teachers receiving the state's highest ratings has steadily risen since the system was introduced in 2015.
Ruszkowski says the percentage of highly effective teachers especially has jumped in poorer school districts.